When We Move Too Fast

How many times at work have you thought, "I just need to get this thing off my plate so I can focus on this more important project?" Daily? Everyone is rushing. Everyone feels time-crunched.

You show up late to meetings. You work on other tasks while you're in the meeting. You launch off that slack or that email so you can hope to get an answer back fast. Fast. Fast. ...Fast.

Scuffs and Dents Show Up

When we move fast, we bump into things. We make mistakes. We drop things. And sure, you might realize it when you miss a deadline here or there, but you're missing quite a pile-up that's easier not to notice.

• When you show up late to a meeting, you show other people that you don't value their time.
• When you send out a request but don't explain it well, you risk confusing or upsetting someone, or putting a lot of burden on them when you didn't mean to.
• If you forget to explain WHY something is happening, or how it might affect the people affected, you risk worrying and upsetting people all over the place.
• Typos show people that you can't be trusted with details, because if you're rushing, maybe you'll miss something important, and not just a word spelled wrong.
• We get our tone wrong a lot when we rush. We come off as commanding instead of supporting. We forget that our role is to build team success, not order robots around. There are humans here, not robots. So far.
• We often forget to consider the mental health of the person or people we're interacting with, also. No one is a machine. Everyone has the chance for a rough day, a rough time in their lives. A little bit of extra sensitivity can help a lot.

It's what happens when we move too fast. And it adds up.

Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast.

That expression is one I heard years ago when interviewing various special operations professionals in the military. I know in the movies that it looks all "run and gun" and people shouting a lot, but the people who do the job explain that the operations that you hear about (and many that we don't) are all built on planning and practicing until everything feels very smooth and fluid. If you learn how to do it slowly, then you can figure out what makes the action smooth. The more smooth the action, the faster it all goes when it comes time to execute.

With people, this is every bit as true.

We "just want to get it done" a lot of the time, but that is rarely the path to success in the long term.

I'm fortunate to work for a boss who teaches me lessons along the way at every turn.

I brought up to him that that a few people were working on a project and I could tell that it was going to fail. I asked whether I should step in. He said, "They have to fail at this project so they can learn what it will take to make it work right next time."

An impatient leader (me) would have wanted to skip the "let them learn" part. But then, what would we have next time something like this happened?

Put Up a Few Guard Rails

Do you want to improve your interactions around humans almost instantly? I can give you a few points to consider that help immensely.

• Be on time for meetings. Finish your prior meetings earlier than the scheduled end time. Warn people ten minutes before the end that the meeting is wrapping up. (Customer-facing meetings can't always go that way, but nearly every internal meeting can be paused.)
• Check yourself before communicating: If I'm asking for something, did I explain what I need and why I need it?
• Are you giving people enough information to feel comfortable with the information you're sharing? (Everyone knows that change is hard. Know what makes it harder? When people feel worried that they don't know how the new thing affects them. Explain it. Write a FAQ.)
• Are you talking to people like you're on the same team? Are you supporting or commanding? (Hint: the answer is almost never "commanding.")
• Be thorough where you can. The more you can equip others, the more they can help you win.
• Check in on people. They could be having a rough day. We forget that someone's mental health can take a thumping and we tend to operate as if everyone is operating at the top of their game at all times. Be sensitive to how others might be facing the day.

I'll give you a few more:

• Complain with compassion. Let's say someone sends out a message and it really rubs you the wrong way. Remember, the other person might be rushing just like you. They might be frustrated about something and it leaked out into the communication. They might need a little help with whatever's on their mind. Send a private message and check in before you lose your mind.
• Check in before you dig deep. We act like courtesy is some kind of box-checking experience, but the purpose of kindness and civility is that it glues together all the good and the bad conversations that can ensue. It also keeps us from treating people like a human order form. If all you do when you reach out to people is ask for something, they'll be less and less eager to help when you need it. Plus, it's the right thing to do. Connect.
• Assume the best. If someone makes a mistake, assume it wasn't intentional. Again, we're all rushing around. Maybe someone is just as busy as you are. Hard to imagine. So give them a chance.
• Treat people like the hero you know they can be. I can't begin to tell you how a little bit of kindness goes a long way in helping people turn into the great leader you know they can be. It's amazing how often we all get stuck in the rut. Just a little kindness gets someone unstuck faster than anything else.

You know that we could both go on and on, but I hope you get it. I imagine you see what I'm aiming at here.

Great companies are built from people who feel respected and appreciated and supported. All of us can end up feeling like we're getting beat up, forgotten, left in the dust. It doesn't take a lot to help people feel like they're working for the right team.

But it DOES take consideration, thought, and the effort to move at the pace that ensures that people feel seen, respected, and treated with kindness.

And show up on time to meetings. Damn it.

Chris...